Rockland zoning ordinance amendment #39 proposes to amend the definition of Accessory Apartment to allow a detached apartment or dwelling on a lot with a single-family residence as a separate stand alone structure, ranging in size from 425 to 800 square feet. Few can object to detach Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) such as existing garages, barns and carriage houses being converted to ADUs as long as they meet conditional standards, such as providing utilities; however, people can oppose the erection of new detached ADUs on small lots for the follow reasons.

First, an analysis using the City’s GIS property tax map showing the footprint of the structures on each lot showed that most of the lots in the denser built-up areas, especially the neighborhoods east of Broadway, consists of smaller lots which are often taking-up with a house, garage, outbuildings, barns, decks, utilities, and paved areas along with topographical, brook or drainage area land use constraints leaving little room for open space.

Adding new detached ADUs and displacing whatever open space is left on a smaller lot would make the area’s neighborhoods even denser than they are now.

Next, most accessory buildings, such as garages, barns and carriage houses, in the denser urban neighborhoods of the town from Broadway east were probably constructed in an earlier era when we did not experience the severe and more frequent year-round storm events from climate change as we do now.

Every year we anticipated heavy snow packs and a gradually spring thawing. The only winter rain storms were from a short January thaw.

In the previous era when people constructed garages and other outbuildings the smaller lots could pretty much absorb rain events. However because of climate changes, warmer winters and more severe rain storms this is no longer the case.

Because these lots are small we can no longer continue to crowd them by displacing any remaining open areas with new structures but instead we need to keep them in their natural state, as much as possible, to absorb even more rain water.

The accumulated development of these untouched spaces on small lots in high density neighborhoods will force more stormwater runoff onto adjacent properties and onto the sidewalks and streets.

Rodney Lynch lives in Rockland